Charles h



(No Model.)

0. H. WILLOOX.

HOOK NEEDLE EOE SEWING MAGHINES.

No. 357,806. Patented Feb. 15, 1887.

N PETERS. Fhclo-Liihngnphen Washington, D.C.

NlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. IVILLCCX, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE WILLCOX & GIBBS SEWING MACHINE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

HOOK-NEEDLE FOR SEVVlNG-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 357,806, dated February 15, 1887.

Application filed June S, 1856. Se1'icll\'o.204,650.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. WILLoox,

and George H. Noble, filed June 8, 1886, and

I officially numbered 204,546; but it is not necessarily restricted to such use.

In the machines shown in the patents and application referred to a hook needle is fastened to the same carrier or needle-bar as the eye-pointed needle, immediately in front of and parallel to the latter, with the barb of the hook-needle pointing toward it, and the looping mechanism, when it has caught the loop of sewing-thread which has been pushed through the fabric by the eye-pointed needle, places it under the barb of the hooloneedle, and the latter draws it through to the other side of the fabric. When the needles again enter the fabric, the eye-pointed needle passes through the loop,which drops off the barb of the hook-needle and is drawn against the eyepointed needle, and when the latter is withdrawn for another stitch the thread locks the preceding stitch.

The object of the present invention is to shape the needle in such a way that the loop' of sewing-thread may be placed in the hookneedle more easily and with greater certainty than heretofore, and that fraying or wearing of the thread by drawing over the needle is,

(Nomodeh) tioned a looper carries the thread past the side of the hook-needle, and a threader which moves at right angles to the looper carries it between the needles, so that the thread is bent at right angles around the blade of the hookneedle below the point of they barb that is, between the point of the barb and the shank of the needle. The bevel, by making the bend in the thread less abrupt, allows the latter to hugthe blade closer.

The'edges of the barb, and also of the beveled surface or surfaces on the blade, are rounded to prevent the fraying or cutting of the thread when it is drawn over them. This rounding is or may be performed by the ro- 6 tary brush which is used to polish the needle. The beveling of the blade under the barb permits the bristles of the polishing-brush to pass under, and thus to act effectively upon the edges of the barb.

The invention also consists in a hook-needle provided with a convex surface at the upper end of the slot, between the barb and the blade, so that the thread may be drawn smoothly over' it when the hook draws the 7 loop through the fabric.

The accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, represent on an enlarged scalea hook-needle for sewing-machines embodying the invention, Figures I and II being front and side elevations, respectively, and Fig. III a cross-section on line I I I, looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. III also illustrates the preferred mode of cutting the bevel on the blade under the barb. I

The needle consists of the shank e, blade f, point 9, and barb, h. It is made from a single piece of steel wire turned and sharpened, as well understood by makers of sewing-machine needles. The hook is formed by cuttinga slot 0 inward toward the axis of the needle and upward or outward-that is, toward the pointpreferably, by means of a rotary cutter or tool in the form of a disk, or in equivalentform, and having the cutting-edge of suitable thick- 9 5 ness or thinness to cut a slot of the desired size. The surface at the end of the slot is made convex, as indicated in Fig. I by the dotted line 306, the curve being struck from a center in the axis of the needle with a radius of half its 10o shown at 307.

diameter. This can easily be done by turning the needle or the tool during the cutting or grinding operation. The blade under the barb is then beveled on one or both sides, as

The bevel on the side past which the looper moves when the needle is placed in the machine is the important one for enabling the thread in sewing to be brought farther under the point of the barb.

The bevels are preferably formed each by the periphery of a rotary cutter, known as an end mill, applied as indicated in Fig. III by dotted lines at 308. At the same time that the bevel is cut by the periphery of the tool the thin edge left at the side of the barb in cutting the slot is removed by the end of the same. When the needle is polished, the edges which remain become sufficiently rounded not to cut or wear the thread.

The bevels enable the bristles of the rotary brush, which is used for polishing, to enter the space under the barb, notwithstanding the high speed of the brush, and thus to act efficiently upon the edges of the barb.

The notcl1fi309 is preferably cut by theperiphery of a rotary tool whose axis is transverse to that of the needle. It is cut well in toward the axis of the needle just below the barb and at one side of the same.

Modifications can be made in details Without departing from the spirit of the invention, and parts of the invention can be used separately by embodying any one or more of the new features in a hoolrneedle of otherwise ordinary or suitableconstruction.

ing that portion of the blade directly beneath the barb at one or both sides cut away at a bevel, substantially as described. 2. A hook-needle for sewing-machines, having a convex surface at the upper end' of the slot which lies between the barb and the blade, the curve of said surface being continuous from side to side of the needle, substantially 5 as described.

3. A hook-needle for sewing-machines, having the edges of the barb rounded and a bevel formed in the blade under the barb at one or both sides, and provided with a convex sur- 5o face at the end of the slot which lies between the barb and the blade, substantially as described.

4. A hook-needle for sewing-machines, pro vided with a transverse notch in the blade 5 5 below and at one side of the barb, and having the blade on that side cut away at a bevel under the barb above said notch, substantially as described.

5. A hook-needle for sewing-machines, hav- 6o ing a beveled surface under the barb on one or both sides of the blade and a convex surface at the end of the slot between the barb and the blade and having also a transverse notch in the blade below and at one side of the barb, the edges of the barb and the beveled surface orsurfaces being rounded to avoid fraying the thread, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscrib- 7o ing witnesses.

CHAS. H. VVILLCOX. 

